Recco
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Recco

Recco

Small Ligurian coastal town in the Paradise Gulf, famous for focaccia col formaggio

Recco is a small coastal town in the Paradise Gulf, best known for one thing: focaccia col formaggio, a thin, crisp flatbread filled with molten stracchino cheese that is arguably the finest street food in Liguria. People drive from Genoa -- just twenty minutes up the motorway -- specifically to eat it, and the town takes its focaccia seriously enough to have a consortium protecting the recipe. The traditional address is Manuelina, where the recipe is said to have been invented in the 1880s, with Da Ö Vittorio the other essential stop.

The town itself was almost entirely rebuilt after heavy bombing in the Second World War, so it lacks the medieval charm of its neighbours Camogli and Sori. What it has instead is a pleasant, unpretentious feel, a good beach at Mulinetti just south of the centre, and a clutch of excellent restaurants. The coast path heading south from Recco toward Camogli is one of the best short walks in the area.

Guide

Day Trips

Recco's location, on the Genoa side of the Portofino headland, makes it a useful base for the whole gulf. Camogli is one stop south on the railway and a forty-minute walk along the coast path; the rocky harbour and pastel houses are the postcard view of the Riviera. Portofino is twenty minutes by car around the headland, or reachable by ferry from Camogli. Genoa is twenty minutes by train in the other direction.

Guide

Eating Out

Recco's reputation is built on a single dish: focaccia col formaggio di Recco, a thin sheet of unleavened dough wrapped around molten stracchino cheese and baked very hot. It is unlike the standard Ligurian focaccia di Genova: no yeast, no oil, and the cheese is the whole point. Eight restaurants in Recco hold the IGP designation that allows them to call their focaccia by the protected name; you can identify them by the consortium sticker on the door.

Beyond focaccia, the town has a serious tradition of seafood and Genoese cooking. The main streets are lined with restaurants, several of them family-run since the 1950s. Book ahead for weekend dinners; the focaccia restaurants in particular fill with day-trippers from Genoa.

Guide

Getting There

Recco is on the main coastal railway line between Genoa and La Spezia, and easy to reach by train. The journey from Genoa Brignole takes about 25 minutes; from La Spezia, about an hour and a quarter. Trains run roughly twice an hour and most through-services from Milan and Pisa stop here.

By car, the A12 motorway has a Recco exit; the small centre is a five-minute drive from the toll. Parking near the seafront is metered and limited in summer.

Guide

Things to Do

Recco has two attractions worth a visit and one (food) that is the actual reason most people come. The town was bombed flat in 1944 and rebuilt without much architectural flourish, but the seafront promenade and the cliff path south toward Camogli are genuinely good walks.

Guide

When to Go

Recco is a year-round town, though the beach and coast path are obviously best from May to September. The Sagra del Fuoco in the second week of September is the town's biggest festival, with fireworks competitions between the four traditional districts that have been running since 1545; the focaccia restaurants are packed and you should book weeks ahead.

Winter and early spring are quieter and cheaper, with mild weather and the focaccia just as good. Avoid August if you can: the town is hot, busy with Italian beach holidaymakers, and many of the smaller restaurants close for two weeks.

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